‘Superfly’ Snuka going to trial for murder in mistress’s death

ALLENTOWN, Pa. » Former professional wrestling star Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka will be heading to trial in the death of his mistress more than three decades ago.

Defense lawyers decided today to bypass a preliminary hearing in Lehigh County in exchange for grand jury transcripts and other evidence in the 1983 death of 23-year-old Nancy Argentino of New York.

Seventy-two-year-old Snuka of Waterford Township, New Jersey, is charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He will remain free on 10 percent of a $100,000 bail, pending trial.

Argentino was found dead in May 1983 after authorities were called to a Whitehall Township hotel room she was sharing with Snuka.

Defense attorney Robert Kirwan II said today her death was "simply an unfortunate accident … not murder."

Nicknamed "Superfly," the Fiji native was known for diving from the ropes and even the top of steel cages in a career that spanned four decades. He was admitted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996, according to the organization’s website.

(Snuka’s family moved to Hawaii when he was 11 and he entertained tourists at the Polynesian Cultural Center while training for bodybuilding competitions, according to his biography on the WWE Hall of Fame website)

Argentino’s family won a wrongful death lawsuit against Snuka in 1985.